Seriously though, after playing through Bungie’s latest console port (trust me, it’s a console port), the feeling I got was one of; now why couldn’t they have coupled that combat engine with a DECENT game? While piledriving, backflipping, and pummeling your enemies’ heads in is a very cool experience, Oni has many other issues that are simply too annoying to ignore. And, it has the dreaded SAVE POINT system, which proves to be the deathblow to any hopes Oni had of being a fulfilling title.

The story behind Oni (at least what I could figure out, the folks at GOD Games didn’t send me any documentation with the review CD) is a familiar one. Stemming from the same cyberpunk world that brought us all the other big corporation is taking over the world driven games, Oni’s plot line is only somewhat interesting, and a bit confusing at times. You play through the game as the butt–kicking so–called cop, Kunoko, who takes it upon herself to help Earth’s huddled masses escape from under the oppressive grasp of The Syndicate (read: big futuristic company that is trying to take over the world) and its leader, Boss Muro. Also, your past is a somewhat muddled one, and as you progress through the game you can begin to piece together information about your mysterious background. I will assure you that to anyone who has had ANY experience with cyberpunk storylines, there will be NO surprises. The story is terribly unoriginal, and follows the cookie–cutter standard for the genre. However, the story in Oni takes a backseat to what is one of the most glorious, and fun, combat systems ever implemented in a PC game.

Remember the killer fight scene in the Matrix between Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburn? Well, that’s pretty much how combat works in Oni. You character comes equipped at the beginning with some pretty nifty martial arts type moves, and gains several new combinations as the game progresses. Before you know it, you’ll progress from a simple punch–punch–kick combination to an absolutely wicked move called the Devil Spin Kick. These combinations are performed by hitting a variety of keystrokes — the more comfortable you become with the various moves, the more success you will have in combat. I found it difficult to memorize all the different keystroke combinations (I can hardly handle all the buttons on my PlayStation), so I picked two or three of my favorite moves, and primarily used them exclusively to defend myself.

My personal favorite move was the Lariat, a move that is performed by holding the "Ctrl" key down on both yours AND your wife’s computer, manipulating your mouse’s scroll wheel with your foot and singing David Bowie’s All the Young Dudes a capella. When properly executed, the move results in Konoko swinging around the enemy’s neck as if it were a stripper’s pole, and delivering a strong boot to the head of any other nearby baddies as she revolves around her target. After the move is finished, the enemy wobbles as if he were kicked in the most private of areas, and collapses to the ground in a heap. Very cool! In addition to kicks and punches, Konoko will also be able to master difficult take downs including a Piledriver, a killer Backflip where you whip your opponent over your head and slam him to the ground on his back, and a move I call the Captain Kirk in which you fall to your back and use your legs to launch your opponent into the air.

In addition to hand–to–hand combat, there are a variety of weapons at your disposal, as well. While I didn’t have a manual to tell me the proper names of these weapons, I can pretty much categorize them as the pistol, the guided missle launcher, the taser, and the weird things that shoots out some kind of bizarre gas stuff. One cool thing about the implementation of the weapons’ system is that your movement will actually be slowed down while carrying your arsenal. In other words, if you are carrying a Surface–to–Air Rocket Launcher, you’re NOT going to be able to nimbly spin around and spring down a corridor. However, with all the awesome close–quarters combat skills Konoko has, you’ll most likely go through most of the game without any weapons at all. Besides, you can shoot people in any old first person shooter, but only in Oni can you crack their necks with your bare hands! Senator Leiberman, call your office!

OK, with all the groovy ass–kicking methods at your disposal, how exactly did Bungie mess up Oni? Well, let’s start with the little things first. The levels, of which there are 14 Chapters in total, look nice enough, but the design is, for the most part, uninspired with most of the scenarios taking place in the semi–abandoned warehouse style setting. Sure, the game might TELL you you’re fighting in an airport, an office building, or other locales, but it’ll still feel like a semi–abandoned warehouse.

That said, there are some exceptions to the bland level design. For instance, in one area, you find yourself fighting enemies in a catwalk flanked by giant flickering video screens. That portion of the game definitely made me stop and say, "Cool!," but unfortunately those moments are few and far between.

Also, in an act of apparent insanity, the developers decided it wasn’t necessary to allow the players to customize the controls! I can’t figure out why, in such a keyboard–dependent game, the designers wouldn’t want to maximize the player’s ability to streamline the interface to their liking. While I did eventually get used to the default keyboard setup, I would’ve definitely liked to have been able to tweak it a bit.

But these complaints are all dwarfed by the boneheaded decision of Bungie to use console–style save points instead of allowing the player to save the game wherever they like. We all have hard drives, you know! I’m sure the developers would explain that incorporating a save wherever feature would make the game too easy, but my opinion is the developers were just too lazy to implement one. It’s no secret that Oni was primarily developed for the PS2, so its likely that the programmers (or the marketers) didn’t want to put the extra effort into making second class citizens such as PC gamers happy. This lack of courtesy forced me to replay a number of portions of several levels over and over again — if I didn’t have an obligation as a reviewer to finish the game (albeit NOT an obligation to do so without using cheat codes) I would have probably just given up. It’s a shame that Bungie put so much effort into Oni’s excellent combat system, but couldn't find the time to implement a standard Save Game system.

So in the end, Oni has a shoddy design that destroys any chance of this anime–inspired action game becoming a success. I would like to see the combat engine stripped out of this title and used in a game that also incorporates a good story, good level design, and a normal Save Game feature. But unfortunately, I consider the use of a console save point system to be the ultimate insult to a PC gamer — akin to a Devil Spin Kick to the head. Unless you can overlook poor game design or just feel like bashing a few heads Matrix–style, steer clear of this PC poser.